Axiomatic design theory: further notes and its guideline to applications

Axiomatic design theory (ADT) is a theory primarily based on two axioms and they are supposed to guide into a design that is sound. The ADT was developed around the 80s and 90s at MIT led by Num P. Suh. Since then, there have been many developments with ADT in literature, including guidelines for applying ADT to practical design or decision-making problems. Along with the ADT and its exciting developments, there has also been some confusion presented in the ADT literature, which hinders the effective application of ADT. This paper attempts to clarify ADT with an aim to remove the confusion, which is conducive to a further development of ADT. The contribution of this paper also lies in the provision of guidelines to apply ADT to practical design or decision-making problems. Finally, the paper generalises the first axiom to a more general one, suitable to general problem solving in the field of decision science.